A lone mourner at Northern Illinois University places flowers at a memorial for the five victims of the Valentines Day shooting on the campus of NIU in DeKalb, Ill., Sunday, Feb. 17, 2008. The man who... (Associated Press)

(Newser)
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Eric Thompson sold guns to both the Northern Illinois University and Virginia Tech shooters, but he’s not apologizing for it. “I’m a businessman,” he tells the Los Angeles Times. “It’s a product.” But Thompson thinks he knows how to stop such violence: allow students to carry guns. “We know it’s going to happen again. It’s time to hit it head on.”

Thompson, who runs online operations from Wisconsin, is not alone. Like-minded enthusiasts are pushing legislation to allow guns on campus, and 14 states are seriously considering it. Gun-control advocates are appalled. “If a bad guy comes in, everyone always wishes there were the John Wayne hero in the classroom to respond,” said one. “But that’s really hard to pull off.”